Idaho food and beverage

August 29, 2008

The McBush (yawn) veepstakes

I'm yawning in part because I could hardly sleep last night after the excitement of the convention and Obama's brilliant acceptance speech (which I watched again starting at 11:15 p.m.).

But I'm also underwhelmed by John McCain's VP rollout, which will probably happen within the next few hours. Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty have been ruled out. (Hooray!) I'm pulling for Joe Lieberman.

Seriously, though, whether he appears as running mate or mere prime-time speaker, it's likely that Loserman will be the only kinda sorta not really-a-Democrat at the Republican party next week. Contrast that with the parade of disaffected Republicans who spoke in Denver, including two GOP lifers who helped introduce Obama last night. It won't be pretty.

Update 8:50 a.m.: It appears that John McCain has picked first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running-mate. (I really wish it had been Michael Palin, but oh well ...)

OK, I'll admit this is an audacious choice (though hardly historic, since the Dems had a woman VP candidate 24 years ago). Good for him. But Palin is even younger and less experienced than Barack Obama. With no national experience, will voters feel she's prepared to be a heartbeat away from the presidency of a man who turns 72 today?

Also of note: She is a Sandpoint native and a U of I grad. That will probably translate into a percentage point or two in Idaho from people who "knew her when," but many of those folks would probably be voting for McCain anyway. I doubt she'll hurt our Dems as much as Mitt Romney would have.

Let's be honest: John McCain clearly wanted Tom Ridge or Joe Lieberman, but he was afraid to buck his party's choice ideologues. So then they looked at Mittens, but having a baker's dozen homes wasn't looking so hot. So he figured that with Pawlenty, he might make a play for Minnesota, but that got shot down over the last week as it become increasingly obvious that Biden would wipe the floor with him in their debate.

Throw in Obama's ground-shifting speech last night, and it was clear that McCain had to throw a hail mary to just remain in the game, much less be competitive.

So we get Sarah Palin, who has a fairly compelling personal story and is an attractive woman, but has scant political experience, zero name recognition outside of political junky circles, faces an ethical investigation by her own legislature, and will now be forced to run a grueling national campaign despite having an infant child at home.

Those are the marks of desperation, and really, given his precarious electoral position, John McCain had no choice.

Update 1:30 p.m.: So just how badly do you think the Sarah Palin choice will divide the already riven Republican Party? The Main Street GOP appears to be livid that McCain passed over well-qualified, well-vetted candidates for someone with no national credentials. But you know that a pick is really disastrous when it divides Idaho's most regressive Republican voices.

Writing early today on his blog, Adam Graham pre-emptively labeled Palin as the least stupid of McCain's possibilities while strongly questioning her resume (or lack thereof). On the other hand, Bryan Fischer is greeting her selection as "outstanding" - mostly because she is against a women's right to have an abortion. (Memo to Mr. Fischer: We're all pro-life, pal. The difference is, Democrats are working to reduce abortions through family-planning and comprehensive sex ed, not to mention economic policies that value families and children. "Just say no" doesn't work, nor does driving abortions into the back alleys.)

Maybe Brandi will get to break the tie - unless she's bummed out at being passed over.

1:38 p.m.: One more thing, from the comments, Sisyphus unearths a video showing Sarah Palin being grilled over an ethics investigation and admitting that she isn't exactly sure what the vice president does.

Michael Palin? He's not even a citizen! That just shows how much you Anti-Sali Socialists know! (On the other hand, the strong morals he showed as Sir Galahad in resisting the peril of the girl's school would appeal to all Patriotic Americans.)

Yeah, right. Just goes to show what you Anti-Sali Socialists know; the Founding Fathers never envisioned a woman as Governor of Alaska, and the people of Alaska are known to be manly men who love the Constitution and the Founders -- just like Bill Sali.